I am the main cause of the ammo shortage

[xxjumbojimboxx]

what's happening right now is really wonderful. All over the nation, people like the original poster are loading up their shelves with ammunition. I had put in a huge store, for me at least, of components, and really have only bought a few bullets here and there to supplement my reloading. During this recent crunch. But i'm teaching all kinds of people how to reload, and supplying them with starter packs for their particular caliber.

Never in recent memory will so many people have so much ammunition on hand, so many firearms, and have so many people trained in how to reload ammunition. This is good for our freedom.

+1000000!

 

[OptimusPrime]

What's happening right now is really wonderful. All over the nation, people like the original poster are loading up their shelves with ammunition. I had put in a huge store, for me at least, of components, and really have only bought a few bullets here and there to supplement my reloading. During this recent crunch. But I'm teaching all kinds of people how to reload, and supplying them with starter packs for their particular caliber.

Never in recent memory will so many people have so much ammunition on hand, so many firearms, and have so many people trained in how to reload ammunition. This is good for our freedom.

That's a very profound concept. Allow me to add, "and they all vote."

 

[jmace57]

I had been in the mode of buying approx $100 worth of ammo per month - just a budget I had established. Unfortunately I started about last August, so I only got 4 months of "normal" buying. I now just keep an eye out and am spending about $150/month now. I will say that I have come close on some calibers where I feel it is sufficient. Based on my shooting habits, I think I can outlast this shortage.

 

[BSA1]

I'm not the cause of the ammo shortage







But







I'd like to be!

 

[41wheelgun]

I do reload and since powder and bullets for 223/5.56 is in short supply, I"ve been buying loaded ammo, a box or two each payday, when I find it.

 

[22-rimfire]

200 of 38
200 of .357 mag
200 of .357 sig
150 of 40
100 of 9mm
100 of 25acp
40 of 44mag/spl
500 of 7.62x39
120 of 22 hornet
40 of 30-30
60 of 6.5x55
40 of 30-06

That rounds or boxes?

 

[Sam1911]

I cant tell if sam1911 is serious or not?

Very serious.

Do a search here for any of the many threads we've had on that subject, and look up the term "IDIQ Contract" so you can better understand what the "DHS Ammo Buy" really is.

But let's not take this thread any further off-topic with that discussion.

 

[itsa pain]

so sam what you are saying is when the govt orders billions of rounds and jams up the supply of raw materials and ammo factories it is good for us??

 

[NHCraigT]

I now have, in rounded numbers,

200 of 38
200 of .357 mag
200 of .357 sig
150 of 40
100 of 9mm
100 of 25acp
40 of 44mag/spl
500 of 7.62x39
120 of 22 hornet
40 of 30-30
60 of 6.5x55
40 of 30-06
a box or two of 7.62x54r
100 various shotgun shells(and I have not shot a shotgun in years)

So I have bought, some at decent prices and some not, about 2000 rounds of various centerfire ammo. Keep in mind I only shoot, or even use, four of those(9mm, 38, 30-30, and 6.5x55). But I own some other guns that I would be willing to shoot that cover the rest. And I have not shot 2000 rounds of ammo in the last 5-7 years combined.

Sorry for the long thread, but I think people like me are probably as big of a problem as anything else.

Thanks.

That is NOTHING to feel guilty about. I would not even attempt to call that hoarding.

That's what I'd consider "loose ammo"....like "Loose change" in your pocket.

Get to buying some real quantities ;-) !!!!

 

[Savage99]

A dealer told me that the same thing happened four years ago when O. got in.

That some the ammo and some guns were sold out.

He said that it will catch up. That they had another trailer due in the next day but it takes some time to unload it.

 

[ngnrd]

That is NOTHING to feel guilty about. I would not even attempt to call that hoarding.

I think that's the point. It's not what most people would call hoarding. But, going from 50 rounds on hand to 2000 rounds on hand is a 4000% increase in his personal stock. And if there are a lot of people out there that would never be called hoarders, but have just bought "a few extra boxes" so they know they'll have them later, it adds up, and quickly.

 

[straightShot]

For all but oddball calibers, I reload.

You can never have enough ammo.

 

[herkyguy]

I have more than that but still feel the need to ration my shooting. I guess it's all relative. The real lesson for me is 1. Buy in bulk and 2. Invest in reloading equipment. I plan on adhering to both of those rules once things settle down. For now I take one gun out with me and a box of ammo about once a week.

 

[x_wrench]

Agsalaska, i do not see you, or your type as THE problem. the problem lies in those who do one of two things. they either buy up literally as much ammo as they can get their hands on, to stash away, even though it may take decades to go thru it all. OR, the person who buys as much ammo as they can get their hands on, to run over to places like gunbroker, and sell it at extremely inflated prices. the second type are NOT doing this industry, and any of us favors. because they are extending the problem only to fill their wallet. the only good thing that might come out of the second type of problem generator, is that they could get stuck with a huge stash of goods, that they will loose money on. but that will not be in the immediate future. i have never had a problem with a guy making an honest buck. but to hoard ammo to triple the price, is only hurting the industry as a whole. it will discourage new shooters, and disgust ones who have been in it a while. they are ALMOST as bad as the anti-gun clan in my opinion.

 

[Agsalaska]

Agsalaska, i do not see you, or your type as THE problem. the problem lies in those who do one of two things. they either buy up literally as much ammo as they can get their hands on, to stash away, even though it may take decades to go thru it all. OR, the person who buys as much ammo as they can get their hands on, to run over to places like gunbroker, and sell it at extremely inflated prices. the second type are NOT doing this industry, and any of us favors. because they are extending the problem only to fill their wallet. the only good thing that might come out of the second type of problem generator, is that they could get stuck with a huge stash of goods, that they will loose money on. but that will not be in the immediate future. i have never had a problem with a guy making an honest buck. but to hoard ammo to triple the price, is only hurting the industry as a whole. it will discourage new shooters, and disgust ones who have been in it a while. they are ALMOST as bad as the anti-gun clan in my opinion.

I agree with both of those being problems as well. But I think there are countless people like me that used to keep the minimum and are now buying far more.

To your second point, that is a big problem. But I don't see the problem being the guys selling it for such a profit. In my mind the problem is that they are given the incentive and opportunity to do so. For example, the reason people are willing to spend, say, $90 for a box of 22 is because they can't find it. They don't have the time to go wait outside Academy twice a week to buy it for $25. If academy would raise their prices to meet market demand it would take the incentive away from the resellers and you would see the top end of the price range drop substantially. Why? Because it would be available. It would be a much healthier market if those places would just raise their prices to the average sale price across all sales instead of having such a large gap between minimum and maximum sale prices for the same item. I'm jot saying they should raise it to $90. That's not the average price. But raise it enough to keep inventory and run off the resellers. The entire problem would self correct much faster if that were to happen.

 

[Serenity]

what's happening right now is really wonderful. All over the nation, people like the original poster are loading up their shelves with ammunition. I had put in a huge store, for me at least, of components, and really have only bought a few bullets here and there to supplement my reloading. During this recent crunch. But i'm teaching all kinds of people how to reload, and supplying them with starter packs for their particular caliber.

Never in recent memory will so many people have so much ammunition on hand, so many firearms, and have so many people trained in how to reload ammunition. This is good for our freedom.

bravo!

 

[Onward Allusion]

Someone said it best ....DHS is one of the reasons.

Yup, you bet. DHS needs all them 22LR rounds for those 10/22 assault rifles to take out the terrorists.

 

[788Ham]

I got caught a little short on bullets and powder for a couple of rifles I shoot, I did find some powder and bullets, the bullets took 5 weeks to get in, and then shipped to me. I've reloaded quite a few .38 Spl rounds, I try to shoot every week, one trip anyway, with the weather being rainy, I haven't gone this past week. I've got quite a bit of ammo reloaded now, .223 and '06, still have plenty of primers and powder for those rifles. I've got some .22's, definitely not like I'd like to have stashed away, but when the time arrives and I can find some, I've got enough cash on hand I'll try to buy 2K or 3K of them! I won't pay $100 a brick either!

 

[Briney61]

Ammo Shortage?

Hi board, I'm a long time lurker and a recent poster..Just explaining my views. What the current ammo hoarding binge has done for me is twofold: recognize what I knew as a kid and what I've learned now. I began reloading in the late 1970's when I worked a few weeks for Dad, busting up a concrete driveway...demolition job, by hand, long enough to buy a Herter's Super Model 3 press. When I bought the press I was told there was a shortage of primers and the Good Ole Boys at CCI was the place to go for the spark that makes it happen. I've been a loyal CCI dude since. To expand, I haven't been able to find any jacketed pistol bullets for a while. Hoarders again. After having read Mike Ventorino's article in Handloader Mag a week or two ago got me thinking....Maybe the big bullet manufacturers really do have an angle...make a cast bullet too soft...so, I began rolling cast lead bullets instead of the copper jacketed name brand pills. I'm a cast bullet in a 44 Mag guy now.

I hope I've said something you guys can use. Maybe you know this already, if so fine, if not, then maybe I've taught somebody something. I'm a teacher by trade, and a gun nut by profession. I hope I can teach a kid something useful. I have a few kids around the house than can shoot, drive a stick shift, and hunt deer.

 

[Manny]

Each of us finds our joy in our shared hobby in our own way. Some by collecting, some by shooting, some in competition or maybe tinkering, some in a combination of these or a myriad of other reasons. Me, I started out as a poor but avid shooter with few guns and morphed over time into someone with a substantial amount of cash invested in a bunch of safequeens filling my safe to overflowing, but little ammo for any, little practical use for most, who now shot very rarely and had lost most of the joy in what had once been a favorite hobby and area of interest.

Once I made the realization that I'd got off track and that I much more enjoyed being a shooter rather than a collector, I made the decision to drastically reconfigure my collection as I only have a certain amount of resources I can devote to this part of my life. My collection these days is substatially different, far smaller and much more practical with no safequeens in the bunch. I also now have a good stock of ammo for those guns remaining so I can continue being a shooter even in these difficult times.

There is a balance and comfort level each of us has to make for guns vs ammo. I find I'm far happier with less guns and more ammo than the reverse. I now generally try and buy ammo by the case and find comfort in the fact that I can continue to pursue my shooting intersts even now. I think alot of folks may realign the balance of what makes them comforable after this last panic too.

 

[we are not amused]

I have long said we are our own worst enemy on the ammunition problem. I was pretty fortunate to have a reasonable supply, and had just bought several bricks of .22 long rifle, two days before the Sandy Hook shooting. I have bought nothing since till about two weeks ago when I bought 250 rounds of .223 at a gun show for about .45 cents a round. (I was down to about that much in my supply)

I agree about the hoarders and the scalpers, as I know a few of the former, and have seen the latter in action. And no, the DHS is not the cause of the shortage, but they aren't helping either.

One of the problems is, that there really are a lot of new gun owners, and there is a genuine increase in the demand for ammunition. I am fortunate to have my own private gun range, but I have seen the lines at the gun ranges in the area, including a few I usually go to.

Overall, I think it is a good thing, and agree that the ammunition shortage is beginning to work itself out, but I will increase my supply of ammunition greatly, once the current shortages are over.

 

[XD40scinNC]

Local reasonable priced ammo, well I haven't seen any in a while.

Online, by the case, and I have scored a number of times. Ordering a few boxes, and the shipping blows the price out, by the case it typically works out to less than the sales tax would be.

As a result, ordering when I found it at a price I would pay, I have over 2K of 9mm, and 2K of .40S&W, and 1K of 22LR. I have a lot because of the economics of how I buy. Ammo keeps, and to order >30¢ by the case makes a lot more sense than buying a box or two locally at over 50¢ a round.

OBTW, we do go to the range on a routing basis, so the numbers are going down. It is not a hoard, it is a supply.

Not to mention the gas I would have burned driving around looking for ammo.

 

[kvtcomdo]

Hoarding???

Until 2008 I always kept a few hundred rounds of ammo for any gun I had in my collection (can't stand having a gun without ammo to shoot out of it). I would usually take a box or two(2) to the range but would purchase ammo to replace it each visit.

After the economic bubble crash I changed habits, started purchasing in bulk and the amount of ammo/gun increased.

Since the "Panic buying" of guns and ammo I purchased whatever I could afford until the prices have become obscene.

Now, when I find something reasonable (which has become a VERY relative term) I buy.

Hoarding to me means we're buying and not shooting. We're shooting, but to say it hasn't changed would be inaccurate.

 

[buck460XVR]

ljnowell,

You completely missed my point. My point is how many people out there are reacting exactly like me.

Your point is well taken. Had a good friend tell me this same thing a coupla weeks back. He was in Fleet/Farm and saw they had bricks of .22 ammo in stock so he bought three bricks. He got home and realized he hasn't shot 3 bricks of .22 ammo in the last twenty years. He too admitted, he's the problem. In other words, everyone that is buying ammo just cause they can, and not because they need it, are contributing to the problem. Oh, I know some will say my friend is better off having it and not needing it, than the other way around, but the truth is, odds are, he kept someone that does need it from getting it. Thus the problem. Same goes for reloading supplies. Will it ever end? Yep, just like last time.

 

[JTHunter]

From about 1990-95, I bought several bricks of Winchester Wildcat .22LR. I still have 3-4 left (1500-2000 rds.), and I have a couple of the more recent bulk packs as well.
Even earlier than that, I had been buying 12 ga. shotshells until I had around 10K by the mid 90's. I quit buying them then and have been using what I have for hunting and I'm down to 5-7K.
I have 2-3K 7.62 x 39, 200-300 (factory & reloads) in .243, 300-400 (factory & reloads) for a .380, ~75 rds. for a .38-20 revolver, ~300 in .38 Sp./.357 Mag, and a couple of hundred in .22 Mag.
As I'm still sighting in the .357 with different loads, I've had to stop with it as both price and availability have been problems since I got this gun late last year.